Washington: Balochistan Focused Think Tank Launched

Washington: The Balochistan Institute, a Washington D.C based think tank has been launched to focus on Balochistan.

This is the first think tank established to focus Balochistan in USA.

United States is considered as heaven for universities, libraries, think-tanks and research institutions. There are thousands of such excellent institutions.

“The Balochistan Institute (BI) is a Washington-based think-tank committed to independent research and dialogue on Balochistan. The Institute aims to create a global understanding of the contemporary challenges and opportunities offered by the resource-rich Baloch region and promote awareness about its people, history, economy, culture and politics,” reads the website of the think tank.

At the moment The Balochistan Institute has three team members; Malik Siraj Akbar former Editor-in-chief of The Baloch Hal, Shehzad Baloch former correspondent of Express Tribune and Muatasim Qazi fomer assistant editor of The Baloch Hal.

Regardless of the tensions between the Pakistani government and the Baloch nationalists, journalists, scholars and policy experts should work without any interruptions

“We have felt for a long time the need to have a think-tank that focuses on Balochistan because Balochistan is an important topic for so many reasons and even in Washington DC, where very senior scholars and diplomats admit that they know nothing about Balochistan, Malik Siraj Akbar told Balochistan Voices.

Mr. Akbar further added “Regardless of the tensions between the Pakistani government and the Baloch nationalists, I think it is very important for journalists, scholars and policy experts to continue writing and debating without any interruptions.”

Mr. Akbar requested people to support this institution because it is for benefit of coming generations.

“50 years down the line, our grandchildren should be proud that we did something for them in the field of research in the United States,” Mr. Akbar said.

Adnan Aamir is founder and Editor of Balochistan Voices. He also contributes for The News, The News on Sunday and Newsline Magazine amongst others as a freelancer. He has completed Chevening South Asian Journalism fellowship from the University of Westminster.

Balochistan Voices is a non-profit english-language online newspaper which relies on the contribution of volunteer writers from across Balochistan. Content of this newspaper may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed or retrieved in any form without prior permission.